Grant funds fresh snacks for 10 elementary schools

Saturday

Sep 29, 2012 at 12:01 AM

In an effort to improve the health of students in the Tuscaloosa City School System, free fresh fruit and vegetables are being provided as an afternoon snack to students at 10 elementary schools — Alberta, Arcadia, Central, Martin Luther King Jr., Northington, Skyland, Southview, Tuscaloosa Magnet Elementary, University Place and Woodland Forrest.

By Jamon SmithStaff Writer

TUSCALOOSA | Pablo Garcia snapped his teeth into a slim carrot Thursday afternoon, breaking it in two with an audible pop.The 10-year-old fifth-grader at Northington Elementary School chewed it with one side of his mouth. His brow was furrowed.“They’re good,” he said with a nod. “They have a good flavor and they’re good for you.” In an effort to improve the health of students in the Tuscaloosa City School System, free fresh fruit and vegetables are being provided as an afternoon snack to students at 10 elementary schools — Alberta, Arcadia, Central, Martin Luther King Jr., Northington, Skyland, Southview, Tuscaloosa Magnet Elementary, University Place and Woodland Forrest.The school system received a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant for $206,415 to pay for the fruits and vegetables.“One of the reasons we applied (for the grant) is because we’re trying to change the culture of the Tuscaloosa City Schools,” said Carlton Robertson, city schools child nutrition coordinator. “We want to give students access to as much healthy food as possible. We saw this as a way to do that.“It’s gone wonderfully,” he said. “We’ve heard so many positive things from the principals. The principals have sent letters home to their students’ parents saying they don’t have to provide snacks for their kids anymore during the course of the day. It saves parents money, and they don’t have to send all those sweet snacks.”Robertson said that out of 43 systems in the state that received the grant, the Tuscaloosa City Schools was award the third-highest amount after the Montgomery County and Jefferson County school systems.Robertson said the school board applied for the grant for 11 schools, but only 10 were accepted. Oakdale Elementary didn’t meet all of the grant criteria, he said. The grant requires that a school have at least 250 students enrolled and more than 50 percent of its students be qualified for free and reduced-priced lunches. The majority of Oakdale’s students are on free and reduced lunch, but it has an enrollment of 246 students.“The great thing about it is we’re going to apply for it again next year and Oakdale just got two new pre-K classes, so we should get it next year,” he said.The produce is ordered weekly from regional sources and is given to all students — whether they’re on free and reduced lunch or not — Monday through Thursday. Robertson said the grant funds the produce for the entire school year. “We’re supplying sliced apples, sliced oranges, grapes, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, honeydew melon, cantaloupe and just a variety of different fruits,” he said. “The good thing about it is they come already pre-packaged.”Students are not only eating healthier, but they’re also learning, Robertson said. The grant requires teachers to instruct students about nutrition when they pass out the fruit and vegetables. Keisha Crane, a fifth-grade teacher at Northington Elementary, said the program is going well.“It’s really positive,” she said. “It gets the kids out and eating healthy and getting fresh air. We take the kids outside when we give them the snacks.“They can take it or not take it,” she said. “The cauliflower seems to be the thing they like the least. They didn’t take it except for three of them. Fruit — they want double servings.”Robertson said some of the requests he’s heard from students since the program started are to have peanut butter with the celery and ranch dressing with the carrots and broccoli. He said they’ll start giving students a light ranch dressing with the vegetables in about a week or two.“We’re excited to have this program,” he said. “Anything we can do to help the kids. I guarantee it will help. We’ll see a difference. When a kid eats a sweet snack they get all hyped up. When they eat a nutritional snack, that’ll last. It’s brain food, and you’ll see a difference in the classroom.”